Following on from the
success of Valhalla,
Legend has recently
announced details of its
latest package, The
Great Space Race.
Simultaneously
launched, for both the
Spectrum and
Commodore 64,
Chairman John Peel
reckons the program's
development has soaked
up well over a quarter of
a million pounds -
reputed to be the largest
amount ever spent on
the development of a
single computer game.
In many ways, unlike
its predecessor, The Great Space Race does
use a similar (though
upgraded) operating
system - Movisoft 2 -
which is said to feature
"technical effects never
before seen in home
computer software".
Talking of the graphics,
Peel states, "we have
finally achieved true
solid 3D graphics which,
under the control of a
computerised 'camera
director', create the most
realistic and spectacular
pictures ever." There'll
also be full facial
animation, with detailed

close-ups of the various
characters taking part.
Legend's first foray
into the wilds of space
involves players taking
part in a two-phase
adventure - the first
being the pre-race
drama, in which
characters wheel and
deal to amass the fastest
spaceships, best
personnel and suitable
weaponry and the
second entering the race
itself; this 'anything
goes' battle of wits
engages you in mortal
combat against time and
natural obstacles, as well
as all the other
competitors!
Instead of the
traditional 'left', 'right'
and 'fire' commands, an
option generator is
provided which allows
other characters in the
game to offer you
various choices based on
the current situation.
Says Peel, "the pressure
is maintained by giving
you only a few seconds
to make your choices."
The race is now on...
either check it out at
your nearest micro shop
or give Legend a ring on
nn-nnn nnnn/n.

The pace of measures to
protect software
companies against
counterfeiting continues
unabated. Following the
revelations of the
Imagine saga, other
companies are becoming
determined not to fold
under the pressure of
unscrupulous pirates.
Elite Systems Ltd, a
company launched on
August 1st, is employing
a new protection method
against counterfeiting.
All its products will carry
an inch by half inch
hologram of the
company's logo on the
cassette inlay cards.
These holograms
are obtainable from only
one source in the world,
which means that any
Elite product that
doesn't display the
stickers - once the
system gets going - will
probably be counterfeit.
The first Elite
software with hologram
stickers attached should
be in the shops by mid-
September. Look out for
their first offering
entitled Kokotoni Wilf.

A creative group
comprising
programmers, graphic
artists and musicians has
broken away from its
parent company, Softek
International, to form an
independent division.
Called The Edge, it's
already boasting four new
titles, two of which -
Starbike and Psytraxx -
are designed for the
Spectrum.
Costing £6.95,
Starbike is described as
taking place in a space
arcade setting; your
mission being to pick up
aliens and transport
them from planet to
planet. The other, and
certainly the more
interesting, package,
Psytraxx, uses a software
technique dubbed
'synergy' which,
according to The Edge's
Marten Davies, "is a
method of shovelling as
many screens as possible
into a game." And it
seems to work as you'll
find an amazing 1026
rooms in it! The plot of
the game is that you are
a small, overworked
droid, drifting around
inside a robot's brain in
search of the malignant
CPU.
Both titles are due for
launch sometime in
September - look for
them in the shops or, if
you prefer, you can get
closer to The Edge on
nn-nnn nnnn.

In this world's oft-
fruitless search for value
for money, a new
software package from
Domark shouldn't be
ignored - especially as
the company's been
offering £25,000 to the
person who can unravel
its mysteries. No ...
don't rush out and buy a
copy yet - at least not
until you've read this.
The prize was offered at
the Personal Computer
World Show from the
20th to the 23rd
September, so you've
probably missed it.
Anyway, the jewel in
the Domark crown is
Eureka - a new real-
time adventure and
arcade game, described
as the culmination of
more than 10,000 man-hours of work by
Hungarian
programmers. With its
five adventure games
and five arcades (coming
on just the one cassette)
it's full of riddles,
puzzles and clues, plus
there's a colour
illustrated book. Ideal,
it's hoped, for
Christmas! At the time
of going to press, no
further details could be
prised from Domark.
All, however, will be
revealed soon.

Longmans the publishers
seems to have won the
race to produce the first
decent replacement for
the shoddy QL style
books that have been
filling the bookshelves
since (as well as before)
the infamous machine's
launch. Good
Programming with
Sinclair QL Basic is by
Roy Atherton and takes
the reader through from
basic principles
to explaining the stuff
that the QL manual
didn't make clear. Each
chapter provides useful,
if not essential,
information for those
who want to learn
SuperBasic in a step- by-
step way, instead of
trying to follow the User
Guide's leaps from
keyboards to concepts
and back again.
Each section has a
self-test so that you can
judge how you're
progressing and the
bibliography is a good
indication of how much
work has gone into
preparing this book. Good Programming
with QL SuperBasic
costs £5.95, its ISBN
number is 0 582 29662
5, and it should be in
your bookshop now.